In the art of orthopedic surgery, an elongated plate or rod can be fixed to bones in order to hold them and support them in a given position. For example, in a procedure to fuse damaged vertebrae, the vertebrae are positioned in a corrected position as required by the surgeon. A flat plate, i.e. a plate having planar upper and lower sides, is placed adjacent to or against the bone, and bone anchors are employed to secure the plate to the bones. Bone screws or bolts can be used as the bone anchors, and with such anchors placement is accomplished by drilling one or more holes in the bone(s), and threading the anchors into the holes. An anchor can be threaded into a hole through the plate, or the plate can be placed in position around the anchor after threading into the hole. The anchor and plate are secured to each other to prevent relative movement. In this way, bones may be held and/or supported in proper alignment for healing.
Other orthopedic systems use rods to connect to bone anchors and provide stability to tissue such as vertebrae. Such rods may be placed along vertebrae, for example, and contoured so as to hold the bones in a desired position and support them.